1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to an electrical connector having a shield and a housing reliably engaged with each other.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known that a cellular phone is provided with an electrical connector for enabling the cellular phone to connect with an auxiliary electrical device.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,186,807 discloses an electrical connector assembly having a metal shield, a dielectric housing with U-shaped channels and a plurality of terminals received in the U-shaped channels of the housing. The metal shield is mountable on a substrate in at least two orientations. Each terminal is generally U-shaped to define a pair of leg portions, an offset tail extending from one of the leg portions and a bight portion joining the pair of leg portions. The bight portions of the terminals have front contact faces for engaging appropriate contact portions of terminals of a complementary mating connector.
However, there is no retention means between the metal shield and the dielectric housing, so that the metal shield can not be retained reliably on the housing when the complementary mating connector is inserted into or pulled out of the electrical connector assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,203,335 discloses a conventional electrical connector having a shield, a housing and a plurality of terminals. The shield has a pair of locking tabs, and the housing defines a pair of recesses for receiving corresponding locking tabs. However, the locking tabs are apt to distort when a push force is exerted on the housing, so that the locking tabs cannot effectively resist a push force acting on the housing during insertion of a complementary connector into the connector. As a result, the engagement between the housing and the shield may be broken, thereby adversely transmitting the acting force directly to the solder joint connections between the terminals and a printed circuit board.
Hence, an improved connector is needed to eliminate the above mentioned defects of the conventional connectors.
The main object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector having a shield and a housing reliably engaged with each other.
An electrical connector of the present invention has an insulative housing, a plurality of terminals received in the housing, and a metal shield. The housing has a body portion and two side portions formed respectively on lateral sides of the body portion. Each side portion has a passage extending therethrough, a front notch and a rear recess respectively in communication with the passage. the shield has two retentive tabs each having an engaging portion projecting through a corresponding passage. The engaging portions of the retentive tabs have free ends received in corresponding notches of the housing. Connecting portions of the retentive tabs upwardly extend from a bottom wall of the shield and are received in corresponding recesses of the housing. The terminals have vertical contacting sections, connecting sections extending parallel to the contacting sections, retention sections connecting the contacting section with the connecting sections, and soldering sections extending horizontally from the connecting sections.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an exploded view of an electrical connector of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but viewed from a rear aspect.
FIG. 3 is an assembled view of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is an assembled view of FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 5xe2x80x945 of FIG. 4.